This place is fecking mad. Chelsea have been able to spend all this money because they haven't bought a player in 18 months and sold their best player (and the league's best player) for £130m. Does them spending that this summer suddenly negate the near £200m we spent in the last 2 windows or something?
Chelsea 2020/21 - General discussion
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
Unbelievable transfer window for them. A proper club with proper ambitious owners. Not everyone can relate. I'm jealous.
There is still time, but when you look at Chelsea how they don't feck around and already brought two quality players it puts into perspective our planning and transfer dealing. I think we are amateurs compared to City and Chelsea.
I think the issue is that we were basically on a level par with Chelsea last season. We were both fielding young teams and were evenly matched as well as both being nowhere near the top 2.
They are now showing that they are not happy with that and want to compete for the league. Its irrelevant what we've spent before, we seem to be showing we are happy fighting for fourth as our team isn't good enough for any more.
Pulisic and Kovacic were hardly free transfers were they? And Hazard went for a lot less if you discount the bonuses/add ons that he has most likely not triggered yet. They also won the league 3 years ago so were in better shape to begin with.
Attack: Werner, Ziyech, Pulisic, Havertz, Abraham, Mount, Giroud, CHO.
Midfield: Kovacic, Kante, Jorginho, Gilmour, Barkley, Loftus Cheek
Defence: Silva, Rudiger, Zouma, Christensen, Tomori, Chilwell, James, Azpilicueta, Alonso, Emerson
Keeper: Kepa, Caballero
Plus some other youth prospects they can dip into that I'm forgetting about. Not sure if any of the lesser players are getting sold either.
Their first 11 is on par with ours, yet their depth absolutely shits on us. Next summer they could start looking at some top class centrebacks and a goalkeeper and soon they'd be fighting for the title. They're pulling further ahead of us already and we're happy to sit back and hope Spurs/Arsenal/Leicester/Wolves don't overtake us.
Midfield: Kovacic, Kante, Jorginho, Gilmour, Barkley, Loftus Cheek
Defence: Silva, Rudiger, Zouma, Christensen, Tomori, Chilwell, James, Azpilicueta, Alonso, Emerson
Keeper: Kepa, Caballero
Plus some other youth prospects they can dip into that I'm forgetting about. Not sure if any of the lesser players are getting sold either.
Their first 11 is on par with ours, yet their depth absolutely shits on us. Next summer they could start looking at some top class centrebacks and a goalkeeper and soon they'd be fighting for the title. They're pulling further ahead of us already and we're happy to sit back and hope Spurs/Arsenal/Leicester/Wolves don't overtake us.
Pulisic was purchased 18 months ago. Kovacic was already at the club and just made permanent.
The point still stands, we've spent a feck tonne of cash whilst they were spending nothing and offloading the best footballer in the league. We even bought Bruno in in January in order to try get past them in the league last season.
They were always going to have a big summer, they have spent very little whilst making loads of money off Hazard.
It's funny to see people say this now when last summer after our signings and them losing Hazard and appointing fat Frank, so many expected us to pretty easily finish above them. it is also largely irrelevant, you can't simply ignore the vast sums we've already spent and go "oh look Chelsea are spending all that money they've saved up by not buying any players and selling Hazard, we should do the exact same even though we already spent that much ourselves!"
Yeah, I'm not implying we'll win the title or anything. Just saying a CB in his mid-30's isn't necessarily always someone who has fallen completely off a cliff. I know that's not what you're saying either, but I made the point to make the following point which was, I'm comfortable with Silva acting as a quality stop-gap until next summer, where we can go and acquire our actual CB targets.
I mean since Hazard they've signed Pulisic, Kovacic on a permanent deal, Ziyech, Havert, Werner, Chillwell and possibly Thiago Silva. So even considering Hazard that's some really big moves in the market. Also it's about finding good deals (Ziyech/Werner, on paper) and get business wrapped up swiftly (miles better than us in this regard).
We did spend big lasts summer but we too sold Lukaku and got rid of plenty of players on good money (Young , Sanchez, soon Smalling) to fund the last 12 months business.
At the end of the day two teams were around the same level and Chelsea are as things stand wiping the floor with us in this window while we can't get one deal done for Sancho.
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Steve Bould was the Ass Man. After he replaced Pat Rice, I think we had a notably good start to the season (12-13) defensively, which meant there was buzz in the media that he 'fixed our defensive issues', which didn't seem to be based on anything more than the fact he was an ex-centre back. For the rest of Wenger's period as manager, there was never really any clarity on what he did beyond putting out the cones in training.
I agree with you - I don't think there's such a thing as a specialist defensive coach.
Thiago Silva joining Chelsea?
So where did our Lukaku, Darmian, Fellaini money go?
I mean United and Chelsea werent on level grounds to begin with as it was. We need investment and our manager needs backing.
Chelsea are backing their manager. They didnt choose to not spend money in 18 months (although that 18 months did include Pulisic for about 60m or so...)
United finished same points as chelsea (a position ahead). Both CL teams. Both with young teams needing investment.
Chelsea have got 2 players confirmed, 2 looking like joining, and a third on the way. All will improve the team and squad.
Meanwhile, were getting Smalling back?
Looks it. How do you think he will do here in the Premier League?
The transfer ban has helped for sure but the biggest reason we have so much to spend is that Marina has somehow recouped most of the money we spent on morata and soon on bakayoko. We make mistakes on players but Marina.. I don’t know how she does it but she’s brilliant.
You guys will compete now for the league, well if united can’t win it then you guys are better than the other two.
Getting £50 million pounds of actual money for Morata is a crime. You should hand yourselves in now, for the good of all humanity.
I believe he will do very well and that it is a smart acquisition
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We have spent a shit tonne more money than Chelsea in the last five or six years.
Fixed
Chelsea have benefited from the transfer ban but they get things done and moving.
Since Roman arrived in 2003, they haven't really been involved in protracted transfer sagas. It doesn't matter who the manager is, they just invest in players and if the manager can't get them to gel, he'll be off. Pressure on Lampard then.
Since Roman arrived in 2003, they haven't really been involved in protracted transfer sagas. It doesn't matter who the manager is, they just invest in players and if the manager can't get them to gel, he'll be off. Pressure on Lampard then.
But none of that was relevant to my point, which was that Chelses are currently compensating for having only acquired a single first team player (Pulisic) in the last 18 months after selling the PL's best player, whereas in that same period we have spent loads of money for Ole. It simply can't be excused when taking this summer into account. They came into it from a position of having loads of cash sitting there from selling Hazard, Morata etc. We came into it from a net spend of ~120m odd over the last year.
How poor we've been in the transfer market when it comes to buying the players we do buy wasn't being disputed, though most on here seem to say that our signings under Ole were all great so.. which is it?
IF Thiago Silva works out, they're still a defensive midfielder, goal keeper and a wide player short from mounting a proper league challenge but its a nice side.
Werner
Pulisic Havertz Ziyech
Kovacic Kante
Chilwell Rudiger Silva Azpilicueta
Cabellero(?)
with Mount, Abraham, Chirstensen, Giroud, Loftus Cheek, Jorginho, Hudson Odoi in reserve. Not bad, the front 4 should be exciting if they can reboot Kante for a season or two to get them out on the counters.Pulisic Havertz Ziyech
Kovacic Kante
Chilwell Rudiger Silva Azpilicueta
Cabellero(?)
I don't think anyone can with a straight face suggest that nearly 100 million spent on signing Harry Maguire and Daniel James was great business.
Probably a season too early, its a lot of new players to get to gel, some of our youngsters probably need another season to get upto top level, and it just feels a bit soon realistically. I'm hoping for 2-3rd next season, and then a real title challenge the season after.
Don't think they'll challenge but on paper, if these players are as good as hyped, it's one of those windows that can elevate a team, and take them up a level or two.
Hope that isn't the case of course.
Oh there's plenty of them, y'know, the ones who think everything Ole has done here is pure brilliance.
Kepa is still a major weakness for them. Unless they plan on promoting Caballero or a youth team, on loan keeper.
That's true. Should have said "any sensible person"
You'll be far too inconsistent to finish top 2 next season. I think you'll struggle for a while before finding your feet and getting consistent in 2021 once the players have settled. It'll end up being a very good window long term though.
There's a vanishingly small chance Kepa is playing for us next season. The writing is on the wall for him.
I’d be ok with 3rd, but you can’t spend several hundred million and then be happy with the same place finish you had the year before. Frank probably wouldn’t survive that.
You didn't finish 3rd.
I don't think he'll survive past New Year personally, we'll see.
Which is why I’d be ok with it next season.You didn't finish 3rd.
I think that's his point! 3rd is at least a step up from where we finished.You didn't finish 3rd.
I don't think he'll survive past New Year personally, we'll see.
Personally I'd focus more on the final points tally rather than position - for me the aim should be 80.
I read the post wrong, my mistake.
Either way, I don't know why people assume you can make so many changes to your first team and expect the season to go smoothly. When there have been countless examples of teams doing this and failing horribly short term. If you do manage to do well then fair fecks Frank, but I think he's been a bit naive changing so much so soon. Should be a fun season for your fans at least as I think it's going to be a bit of a rollercoaster.
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All good, I can see how it sounded ambiguous.
Side note: How the feck did you manage to get so much money for Morata? That is astonishing.
yeh, i think a loan move is a possibility for him. Who we get in ive no idea. I'd want Onana or Pope. *cue the "youll have no money left to afford him*. Sure...
Marina is perhaps the best in the world at her job. She's such a huge asset for Chelsea it's ridiculous. It wasn't just the Morata sale either - I still have no idea how she convinced Atleti to give us nearly double what we paid for Diego Costa 3 years earlier after he'd totally fallen out with Conte.